With the matter of the Bay of Legends resolved, Joe Di was ready to leave.
Just as Joe Di was about to extend his divine sense and slip away from here—planning to visit Celestial Beyond, then leave for the Void Market and tear open the void—a sudden voice called out to him, "Poison Sovereign, are you just going to leave like that?"
Strangely enough, the voice was extraordinarily pleasant.
Joe Di was startled. Except for that mercury-like entity from the Grandway Abyss, no one had ever appeared so suddenly behind him without being detected.
Almost instinctively, Joe Di turned around first, then extended his divine sense.
When Joe Di saw the woman standing opposite him, he was stunned. Throughout his cultivation journey, he had seen countless beauties. He had even, in his youthful ignorance, fallen for Manna Zhen. His wife, Nora Xiu, was also a beauty.
But he had truly never seen a woman as beautiful as the one before him. To call her beautiful was not enough; she was flawless. It was as if she was born with all the spiritual energy of heaven and earth gathered in her, concentrating the universe’s elegance into one person. Her delicate brows and clear eyes, even when speaking in a reproachful tone, could not mask the overwhelming aura of natural grace that radiated from her.
The last woman who gave him such a feeling was Moria Lane, but Joe Di felt that if Moria Lane stood beside this woman, she would be instantly overshadowed.
It wasn’t just her appearance—it was the harmonious aura and innate cosmic grace she possessed.
But what truly shocked Joe Di was not just the woman’s beauty—it was the beast pet at her feet.
The beast pet had six wings, its body shimmering with layer upon layer of Dao rhythm, as if it were forged from the universe’s rarest divine metals. Most striking were its eyes—Joe Di could sense a hint of disdain in the way they looked at him.
Joe Di quickly recovered from his shock, clasped his fists politely, and said, "Joe Di greets this fairy. May I ask what business you have with the Poison Sovereign?"
The woman’s tone was reproachful—Joe Di could tell she was dissatisfied with the Poison Sovereign. He himself disliked the Poison Sovereign’s ruthlessness, but the Poison Sovereign had just helped him take revenge. It was because of him that the Bay of Legends was destroyed. To betray the Poison Sovereign immediately after seemed unjustifiable.
So Joe Di neither admitted nor denied being the Poison Sovereign, but instead asked what she wanted. If she bore no ill intent, he would speak plainly.
"I remember this place. It’s called the Bay of Legends—I’ve even been inside. There were cultivators here living carefree lives, untouched by the world, simply going about their days. I’ve heard of your reputation; you’re a well-known figure in the Five Elements Universe. Why did you act so ruthlessly and destroy this realm?" The beautiful woman was clearly reproaching Joe Di for his actions, but her words remained gentle, never aggressive.
Though she wasn’t aggressive, her tone made it clear she saw Joe Di as the Poison Sovereign.
To Joe Di’s surprise, this woman was a cultivator bursting with a sense of justice. He felt a headache coming on and could only say, "May I ask how I should address you, fairy?"
The woman furrowed her brows and replied coolly, "My name is unimportant. What matters is that your heart is too steeped in slaughter. If someone like you remains in the Five Elements Universe, it could spell disaster for the entire cosmos."
Joe Di stared speechlessly at the woman, trying to soften his tone. "Fellow Daoist, I’m afraid you haven’t grasped the real truth. The reality is, the Bay Family of the Bay of Legends was utterly evil. They refined planets, and even kept countless cultivators captive to extract Soulbinder Gold. If such a family were allowed to remain, that would be the true disaster for the Five Elements Universe."
Seeing how deeply this woman misunderstood him, Joe Di couldn’t be bothered to keep calling her ‘fairy.’ So what if she was the most beautiful in the universe? Could beauty fill one’s stomach?
The woman said coolly, "You destroyed the Bay of Legends, so whatever you say, it’s still your doing. No matter what, someone with your bloodlust shouldn’t remain in the universe. Come with me—perhaps after ten million years, your temperament will be tempered."
Joe Di laughed in anger. "So you want to drag me back to be your Dao companion? You may be beautiful, but I have no interest in that."
The woman didn’t get angry at all, still speaking calmly: "You’re mistaken. I have no intention of making you my Dao companion. I simply want you to guard my lotus pond for ten million years. We’ll see if you’ve changed by then."
"I refuse. What can you do about it?" Joe Di retorted, not even bothering to summon his Azure Veil Blade.
To him, this woman clearly hadn’t stepped into the Third Step. No matter how strong her cultivation, she was only at the peak of Dao Fusion.
Peak Dao Fusion? Heh, he’d killed plenty at that level.
"That’s not up to you." The woman spoke, then raised her hand to grab at Joe Di.
Joe Di snorted, advancing instead of retreating, and threw a punch—his Fist Dao technique, Raging Waves.
Waves surged in fury, peaks gathered in force! Joe Di didn’t hold back in the slightest; his opponent was at least stronger in cultivation, so he wanted this punch to make her suffer.
A series of fist peaks formed in succession, gathering from the waves and crashing down violently.
Boom! Boom! Boom! The divine essence exploded endlessly in the void, causing the laws of space to grow chaotic and unstable.
What Joe Di expected—that his Raging Waves Fist Dao would reduce everything to dust—didn’t happen. Instead, he felt his Dao rhythm and technique sucked into a massive vortex, which easily devoured his power and then sent it rebounding along his own attack.
Spurt! Spurt! Spurt! Joe Di spat out three streams of blood, his body hurtling backward. He flew a full thousand feet before landing in the void, then stared in shock at the woman before him.
He was certain this woman was stronger than Zefron Ye. Zefron Ye had stepped into the Third Step, but this woman hadn’t. And yet, Joe Di was far more powerful now than when he fought Zefron Ye, but even so, he was no match for her grasp.
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Joe Di took a deep breath and summoned his Azure Veil Blade.
Joe Di was stunned, and so was the woman. Her six-winged divine beast merely shifted, and instantly appeared before Joe Di again.
"I didn’t expect you to be so formidable with poison as well. It seems your fortune is extraordinary—many have misjudged you. You are worthy of knowing my name: I am Cassie Cao." The woman finished speaking and reached for Joe Di again. Despite acknowledging his strength, she still didn’t use any magical treasures.
Joe Di gathered his Dao rhythm into the Azure Veil Blade and, without hesitation, unleashed the Wind Sigh Blade.
The blade’s momentum transformed into an unstoppable blade curtain, and the void instantly became fragile.
Crack! What shocked Joe Di even more was that before his Wind Sigh Blade could strike Cassie Cao’s Dao rhythm, her divine beast simply opened its mouth and bit down—his blade momentum collapsed instantly, and the blade curtain vanished.
A crushing aura swept over him—Joe Di retreated frantically. With a ripping sound, Cassie Cao’s divine handprint tore away the cloth and a layer of skin from his chest.
But it wasn’t over—the handprint, like a maggot clinging to bone, reached for Joe Di’s brow. He didn’t dare hesitate; he summoned the Creation Brush and swept out a giant ‘Realm’ character in the void.
Crack! The ‘Realm’ character shattered, and Joe Di felt the handprint’s restraint loosen slightly. At this point, he knew better than to keep fighting this woman. If he continued, he was certain he wouldn’t live to see the next sunrise.
He activated his Rule Escape technique, and in the next instant, Joe Di vanished from Cassie Cao’s sight.
(Qidian Grandmaster Ye Tiannan’s new novel, ‘Master of Secret Treasures,’ has been released. If you enjoy modern cultivation and wish-fulfillment stories, feel free to check it out.)